''Puccinia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

. All species in this genus are obligate

plant pathogens Plant diseases are diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like orga ...

and are known as rusts. The genus contains about 4000 species. The genus name of ''Puccinia'' is in honour of Tommaso Puccini (died 1735), who was an Italian doctor and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

who taught anatomy at

Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova (i.e. in Italian language, Italian) is the oldest hospital still active in Florence, Italy. History and artistic profile Origins The hospital was founded in 1288 by Folco Portinari, the father of Beatrice Por ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. The genus was circumscribed by

Pier Antonio Micheli Pier Antonio Micheli (11 December 1679 – 1 January 1737) was a noted Italian botanist, professor of botany in Pisa, curator of the Orto Botanico di Firenze, author of ''Nova plantarum genera iuxta Tournefortii methodum disposita''. He discover ...

in Nov. Pl. Gen. on page 213 in 1729.

Taxonomy

Examples of ''Puccinia'' rusts and the diseases they cause: * '' Puccinia asparagi'' - Asparagus rust * '' Puccinia evadens'' - Coyote brush rust * ''

Puccinia graminis Stem rust, also known as cereal rust, black rust, red rust or red dust, is caused by the fungus ''Puccinia graminis'', which causes significant disease in cereal crops. Crop species that are affected by the disease include bread wheat, durum whe ...

'' - Stem rust, also known as black rust * '' Puccinia horiana'' - Chrysanthemum white rust * '' Puccinia mariae-wilsoniae'' - Spring beauty rust * '' Puccinia poarum'' - Coltsfoot rust gall * '' Puccinia psidii'' - Guava rust or eucalyptus rust * ''

Puccinia recondita ''Puccinia recondita'' is a fungus species and plant pathogen belonging to the order of Pucciniales and family Pucciniaceae. Distribution This fungal species occurs worldwide. Biology It is a heteroecious fungus, macrocyclic, and has five disti ...

'' - Brown rust * ''

Puccinia sessilis ''Puccinia sessilis'' is a fungal species and plant pathogen, which is also known as arum rust or ramsons rust. It commonly infects ''Arum maculatum'' and ''Allium ursinum'' causing yellow to orange circular patches on leaves. On the underside ...

'' - Arum rust and Ramsons rust * '' Puccinia striiformis'' - Stripe rust, also known as yellow rust * ''

Puccinia triticina Wheat leaf rust (''Puccinia triticina'') is a fungal disease that affects wheat, barley, rye stems, leaves and grains. In temperate zones it is destructive on winter wheat because the pathogen overwinters. Infections can lead up to 20% Crop yie ...

'' - Wheat leaf rust, also known as brown rust * '' Puccinia punctiformis'' - Canada thistle rust The rust species ''Puccinia obtegens'' has shown some promise for controlling

Canada thistle ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...

, but it must be used in conjunction with other control measures to be effective. Another leaf rust species, '' Puccinia myrsiphylli'', has been used as an effective biocontrol agent for infestations of the common form of bridal creeper (''

Asparagus asparagoides ''Asparagus asparagoides'', commonly known as bridal creeper, bridal-veil creeper, ''gnarboola'', smilax or smilax asparagus, is a herbaceous climbing plant of the family Asparagaceae native to eastern and southern Africa. Sometimes grown as an ...

'') in Australia since 2000.Biosecurity SA : Weeds and pest animals Bridal Creeper Policy
Accessed 1 September 2014.

References

External links

A collection of information regarding ''Puccinia psidii''
��particularly with respect to its presence in Hawaii * - A collection of references to other genomics resources, on

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

, and

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

rusts. Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Basidiomycota genera {{plant-disease-stub